CHAPTER FOUR

Outside the relative protection of the ship's wreckage, a storm was brewing. The wind was fierce. While the thermal insulation of her survival suit kept the frigid temperature at bay, Kylie was helpless against the powerful gusts of wind that threatened to drive to her knees.

She and Captain Terran clung to each other as they followed the stranger across the barren landscape. He kept his head down and dug his feet in, fighting to pull the sled with its heavy cargo of power cells. His cape whipped around him. They were heading directly into the battering brunt of the winds, which made swift travel nearly impossible. Kylie wondered how the man could withstand the bitter force of the elements. He seemed impervious to the cold.

The stranger had left himself enough lead rope that he could easily leap across the treacherous ravines and then pull the sled over the narrow cracks behind him with little danger of losing it. For Kylie, however, each crevasse might as well have been a mile-wide chasm.

She and Captain Terran teetered atop a thin wall of ice, staring down into the bottomless crevasse before them. It was perhaps four feet wide, and under normal conditions Kylie would have had no difficulty in leaping across. But Captain Terran leaned heavily on her, and Kylie knew from the last several fissures they'd traversed, that she'd need to practically carry the other woman across the opening.

"Just leave me here," the pilot gasped, and tried weakly to pull free of Kylie's grasp. "I can't do this. You heard the man; if you don't keep up, you get left behind."

"No," Kylie gritted out, and tightened her grasp on Captain Terran. "I won't leave you. We can do this! Just hang on to me and I'll do the work."

The pilot laughed weakly. "You're crazy. I weigh as much if not more than you do. We'll never make it."

Kylie checked the distance across the crevasse, and knew it was going to be risky. She glanced up and saw the distance between themselves and the stranger was growing wider. If they didn't get moving, they were going to be left behind. She had wanted to rig up a sled for the Captain, like the one the stranger was using for the power cells, but there hadn't been time. He'd said he would set the pace and they'd need to keep up. He hadn't been kidding.

"Okay. Let's do this." She tightened her hold on the pilot and with a hoarse cry of effort, leaped forward, thrusting the other woman ahead of her.

She felt the far edge of the crevasse catch her across the front of her thighs, and then she was scrabbling frantically for purchase on the icy surface. Captain Terran was doing the same, but with her injured shoulder, she was having more difficulty. She'd landed with most of her torso above the edge of the crevasse, and it took little more than a hard shove from Kylie to push her fully to the surface.

Kylie felt herself slipping backwards into the dark chasm that yawned below her. Her feet sought for a foothold on the slippery smooth wall of the crevasse, even as her gloved hands clawed at the surface above. She wasn't going to make it. She was slipping.

Captain Terran flung out a hand toward her and in desperation, Kylie lunged for it. She gritted her teeth as the pilot gripped her injured hand tightly. Kylie knew the other woman must also be in considerable pain, as she was exerting stress on her own injured shoulder.

"Climb, dammit," the pilot hissed. "C'mon, you can do it."

"Ahh!" Kylie cried out in both pain and fear as she felt herself slip further. Adrenaline was coursing through her body, and she was terrified of falling backwards into the blackness below.

Captain Terran was on her stomach now, both hands wrapped around Kylie's as she tried desperately to save her. Without anything to grab onto, however, she was sliding slowly, inexorably, toward the edge of the crevasse.

"Let me go!" Kylie cried. She'd have a better chance of fighting her way to the surface with both of her hands free, but if the pilot didn't release her then they'd both plunge into the abyss.

Kicking one leg out behind her, she encountered the far side of the crevasse. Bracing her foot against the opposite wall, she managed to halt her descent, but she'd only succeeded in bridging the gap with her body. She didn't have the momentum or the upper body strength to haul herself out of the chasm.

"Okay," she gasped. "I'm okay. Let go."

The pilot released her vice-like grip on Kylie's hand and collapsed against the frozen ground. Kylie wedged herself more securely between the walls of the crevasse, debating the best way to free herself. If she released the pressure of her feet against the opposite wall, she would fall. If she let go of the surface with her hands, she would fall. It was only the pressure of her body against the two walls that kept her in place.

Suddenly, an ominous cracking sound filled the air, penetrating the sound of the wind that whipped around them. In horror, Kylie watched as a fissure appeared on the wall of ice where her feet were planted. It traveled slowly outward, around her feet, and then disappeared downward. Was it only her imagination, or did she actually feel the ice beginning to buckle beneath her boots?

The ice shattered beneath her feet and Kylie's heart lurched as her support vanished. In the next instant, she was hurtling through space. She landed heavily on her back, stunned by the impact. The wind still whipped around her, and overhead the sky was a sullen gray.

She wasn't lying at the bottom of the crevasse; she was on a patch of frozen ground just steps from where Captain Terran still lay on her stomach. A shadow fell across her, blocking out the sky, and she knew who was responsible for her rescue.

The stranger stood with arms akimbo, legs planted on either side of her, as he stared down her from behind his goggles. "Like I said before…you're soft, Princess. Very soft." His voice was softly mocking.

He extended a hand down to her, and after a moment's hesitation, Kylie took it. He hauled her effortlessly to her feet.

"Thanks." Kylie risked a glance at him, but he had already turned away. He had dragged the sled back to the crevasse with him, and now he bent and pushed both power cells to the front of the sled.

"Your pilot can ride on the sled," he said, as he began strapping himself once more into the harness. "You, Princess, get to help me pull."

As if he needed any help, Kylie thought. He positively bulged with muscles. That much was evident even beneath the layers of clothing he wore. The man was probably capable of dragging their entire ship across the planet without so much as breaking a sweat.

She suspected he wanted her up front with him to keep an eye on her and ensure she didn't fall behind. She didn't care; she was grateful to him for putting Captain Terran on the sled.

She stepped into the harness beside him, feeling dwarfed beside his broad height. With deft movements, he strapped the makeshift harness across her chest, and she could have sworn she saw him smile grimly beneath the frozen beard and moustache.

Kylie checked that Captain Terran was securely on the sled, and then nodded to the man beside her.

"Okay, Princess," he called over the force of the howling winds. "In less than an hour, this storm is going to reach tornado strength and dump two meters of snow on every surface. We need to cover ten kilometers before it hits, or we'll die out here." He paused. "Are you with me?"

Kylie drew in a deep breath. She realized that whether she wanted to be or not, she was with him all the way. After all, he held their lives in his hands.

She nodded to him. "I'm with you!"